


What Don't I Know

by desperationandgin



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 05:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1255030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desperationandgin/pseuds/desperationandgin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events in 'The Doctor,' David checks up on Regina just to make sure she's all right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Don't I Know

**Author's Note:**

> I've never been satisfied with the fact that we had a very important moment with Regina losing Daniel again, and never once using magic on David. It was left very open, especially between David and Regina, so this fic is how I cope with it. It's been pointed out that David does indeed know that Snow is the reason Daniel was killed, but what good is having AU fic if you can't go all the way?

“Someone should go check on her.”

Henry was sitting at the breakfast bar in his grandparent’s apartment, pushing spaghetti noodles around his plate with a fork. David, for his part, had at least tried making real, homemade spaghetti sauce, but it wasn’t as good as his mom’s. “She’s alone. What if he hurt her?” 

David looked over at Henry and really, he wished anyone else were here, preferably not stuck in a ruined land. Because this was going to fall on him, and while he didn’t mind helping, it was what had played out and what he’d witnessed that made him want to give Regina space. He reached over though, hand messing up Henry's hair. “I’ll go after dinner. Don’t worry."

He made good on his promise a half hour later, wondering if he should call Regina first or just show up. He figured she was more likely to answer the door than the phone, so show up it was. David really wasn’t sure what to say to her. ‘Your fiancé came back from the dead. How are you?’ seemed too insensitive. There was an obvious answer to ‘Are you okay?’ She’d deny that she needed anything, he already knew, so the point of this trip was was that there was none except to assure Henry that she was fine. He’d look at her, make sure she wasn’t hurt, then go. 

What he hadn’t counted on was walking to the door and finding her front door partway open, the house dark. David realized then that he didn’t know _what_ had happened to Daniel; for all he knew the man had followed Regina back here, hurt her. He was her fiancé, but he’d _ripped off_ a man’s arm and attacked both Henry and Regina. Who knew what he was capable of. Drawing his gun, David stepped into Regina’s house, slowly pressing forward, listening and looking for anything to indicate something was wrong. Tripping a little, he looked down and realized high heels were right in the middle of the floor, as if she’d kicked them off right when she got home. Maybe that was a good sign.

As he tried to decide which direction he should go - up the stairs or into the kitchen - his eyes adjusted enough to notice a faint light coming from under a door to the right. Slowly he pressed forward until he could push the door open with his hand. It didn’t make a sound and he saw her right away. She was sitting on the couch of her study, curled into one end and holding tightly to a glass that was half empty. Glancing at the coffee table, the half empty bottle either meant she’d been going at it for a while, or she’d just started on a bottle that was already open. Holstering his gun, David knocked lightly so as not to startle her.

The knock didn’t work, Regina tensing on the couch, but as soon as she saw David she relaxed and brought her glass to her lips, draining what was in it in two swallows. “ _What_?”

It was slurred enough, and for a second, David couldn’t actually believe that Regina was sitting on her couch, drunk. She liked to be in control, and alcohol wasn’t the way to maintain it. Walking in further, he watched her pour another drink. “You’ve had enough of this,” he decided for her as he took the bottle once she had the glass in her hand.

“You don’t get to tell me what the hell I’ve had enough of,” she snapped, gesturing with her glass and spilling scotch over her hand. “Dammit…”

It was then that he realized her voice was hoarse, her eyes red-rimmed, and while he kept the bottle, he sat across from her on the coffee table, ignoring her glare at the audacity he had to sit on the polished wood. “Talk to me, Regina. It’s the only way I can help you.”

“I already talked to the cricket, I don’t need to talk to you.”

“ _Archie_ …is great at what he does. Talk to someone he wants to be a friend. Not your therapist.”

The look she gave him would have been comical if not for the circumstances surrounding her. “A friend? A….you…a _friend_?”

He looked down with a half smile. “All right, wrong word. Someone who wants to know how to help. Someone here to make sure Henry knows you’re fine.”

Regina’s expression changed then to one of worry. “Is he…that shouldn’t have happened, Daniel would never hurt him.” 

Her voice broke in a way that made David reach out and touch, hand squeezing around her arm. “He’s fine, Regina. Just worried.” Pausing for a few long moments, he took in her appearance once more and noticed the faint bruising around her neck. “Regina, what happened? Where’s Daniel now?”

“Dead.”

She said it so quickly, with no hesitation as if she’d come to terms with the fact. But he knew she hadn’t. The alcohol was proof enough of that.

“I used magic. I used magic to let him go,” she finished, blinking quickly to keep fresh tears from falling.

“He didn’t hurt Henry, but he did hurt you,” David spoke quietly. His hand reached out to brush her hair back, needing to look at her neck and see the damage.

Too stunned at the gesture to move, Regina’s tongue was loose and she spoke the first words that came to mind. “I’ve had worse.”

Their eyes locked for a moment, and there was another stark realization between them. He didn’t know anything about Regina. He knew her as a queen gone mad, as the woman who attempted to ruin his life, kill his wife. But he didn’t know why. He had no idea what her life had been like; surely there was a time before tormenting Snow. A time when she had someone named Daniel. 

“You don’t have to talk. No one’s making you.” He stood to go and was surprised at the feel of her hand on his wrist. “The heart Whale put into him…it wasn’t _Daniel’s_. It wasn’t right.”

“What happened to Daniel’s heart?” David sat again, almost afraid to hear the answer as he watched Regina’s eyes fill with tears.

“My mother crushed it. She crushed it in front of me because _your wife_ told her that I didn’t love the king. Daniel died in my arms and a week later, I was the queen.” She didn’t wipe away the tears, just swallowed more alcohol.

For his part, David sat in stunned silence for a long while. He hadn’t heard this part. Snow always told him that this entire….drama was because Regina believed she was the rightful queen and vanity drove her.

She’d _lied_ to him.

And all of this, the fighting, the curse, all of it, made more sense to him than a lot had in a long while. His first thought, that Snow had only been a child, was something he was sure Doctor Hopper had already repeated to Regina, so instead, David reached out and took her free hand between both of his. “How did Whale bring him back? The heart, I know, but…how did he get Daniel’s body?”

Regina was quiet as she stared down into the glass in her hand. The next time she spoke, her voice was low.  “I kept it. I preserved his body when he died and never let it go.”

Closing his eyes, David let out a breath and leaned forward. This man that she’d loved was suddenly gone, and she didn’t even have a grave to visit. And now Regina was half a bottle of scotch in, finally filling in the blanks of her life. “I never knew about any of this,” he finally admitted, looking at her again.

“She never told you? After the sleeping curse, she never cared to fill you in?” Regina sneered a little, then moved to stand abruptly. “Typical - “ She was falling back over before she could get anything else out, and was only stopped by David standing and wrapping his arms around her.

“Regina, you’ve had enough,” he said firmly, taking the glass from her. Sitting her back down he left her alone, walking to her kitchen and pouring out the rest of the booze and rinsing the glass. He filled it with water from the tap before making his way back to the study and letting out an exasperated sigh of her name. “Regina."

She had the bottle in her hand, taking a large swallow, and when she lowered it she simply winced a little. “I told you not to tell me what to do, _Charming_.”

Knowing she couldn’t even stand up straight, he went ahead and took the bottle despite her protests and put it back on the shelf. Then, the glass of water was handed over. “Drink that.”

Sulking petulantly, she took the water and drank it quickly before putting the glass down. She shifted on the couch, lying with her head against the armrest. “You can go.”

Arms crossed over his chest and standing over her, he considered it. Eyeballing the bottle again and how much she’d had he sat down, this time in a chair. “Not yet.” He watched her eyes close, knowing she was close to passing out. “You didn’t use magic at the stables on me. Why?”

Bleary eyes blinked open and took a moment to focus on him. “‘m trying to be better,” she mumbled, the last shot of liquor apparently doing her in. “Didn’t want to hurt you. Just wanted Daniel.” Her eyes closed again, a hand clumsily raising to wipe away a stray tear.

David contemplated her silently, deciding to let her fall asleep. All this time, every motive driven by the death of one person she’d loved. Her words from before, ‘I’ve had worse’ echoed in his head as he watched her breathing even out. Standing slowly, he looked around the room until he found a folded blanket in a shelf and draped it over her. Refilling the water glass, he rummaged in drawers until he found aspirin and set both on the coffee table before deciding to pull the trashcan close as well. Kneeling in front of her, up close this way he could see the bruises better, could see the scar on her lip and one on her cheek. He knew where the latter came from - Snow. But now he had to wonder how she got the scar on her lip.

Tucking her in a little more, his hand lingered on her shoulder until he reminded himself that Henry was back at the apartment. Leaving the study, he flipped the light off before making his way out of her house, making sure this time that the door was closed. He knew she was trying. It wasn’t easy to ignore everything she’d ever done, but it _was_ hard to dismiss that she’d begged and pleaded with him at the stables rather than forced her hand and thrown him out of the way with magic.

Maybe she really would change. And maybe, if she let him, he could help.


End file.
